Brad Warner had just drawn the Japanese characters for "monster" down the soft side of my inner arm beneath my tattooed character, "flower." Over the local beers I had just introduced him to in a Lower Haight cafe I became "flower monster." He had just introduced me to what it's like to hang out with an author, punk rock bassist, and Zen master.

Saturday at Green Apple Books I met Brad Warner at the signing for his new book "Zen Wrapped In Karma Dipped In Chocolate." We immediately started talking about sex. Not because I asked him if he'd seen the cult film, Hong Kong action porn farce "Sex and Zen," nor because of my own work. It was because Warner's subtitle reads "A Trip Through Death, Sex, Divorce, and Spiritual Celebrity In Search Of The True Dharma."

It was the "sex" part that made me do a double take; and that Warner writes a column for soft-core pinup Suicide Girls opened up a world of wonder; how, exactly, do sex and Zen go together? Sure, I've heard plenty of puerile pontification from Yoga nerds about "achieving Nirvana, baby" while they show you their downward dog, and this town already has a New Age-y sex cult or two where it's always "ladies' night." But Warner is on the level; "Zen Wrapped In Karma" is a no-bullshit first-person account of the year Warner's life completely fell devastatingly apart as he navigated heartbreak and loss, becoming a self-described "porno Buddhist" as his day job, all while he counseled Zen practitioners through their own crises.

Then he told me his next book was going to be about sex. All about sex. And here I thought Zen Masters were celibate. Turns out, I was only half right. Further investigation was required. Sharing a huge plate of vegetarian Ethiopian food at the Axum Cafe in the Lower Haight later, Warner probably channeled the patience of Buddha as I excitedly grilled him with questions about sex and Zen.

Violet Blue: What's the basic philosophy about sex from a Zen perspective?

Brad Warner: There's no specific philosophy as such. When you enter the Buddhist order either as a layperson or clergy you take ten vows, one of which is not to abuse sexuality. But there is no specific definition of what that means. In the earliest Buddhist sanghas they decided that meant you had to be celibate. And some orders still interpret it that way. Lucky for me, Japanese-style Zen Buddhism does not interpret it in that way! In Zen it's up to each individual to decide what "abusing sexuality" means. For me it's even more vague because my teacher changed the wording of that precept and rather than asking them to avoid abusing sexuality he asks his students to vow to "not to desire too much."

VB: You're an internationally respected Zen Master and you write for Suicide Girls -- a soft-core porn site. Has this ever been a point of conflict for you personally, or have you ever gotten sh-- for it? If so, why?

BW: Yes I have. There haven't been a lot of Buddhists who got upset about it. But the ones who did get upset got very, very upset. I think they feel that I'm tarnishing the image of Zen or something. It's very hard for me to pin down just what their objections actually are. They consider it immoral or something. One woman I met thought it was exploitative of women. And I suppose it is on some level. But nobody is being coerced to pose for Suicide Girls. This is a very big topic. I know a few of the models and they seem to be OK with what they're doing. I know some have posed for the site then regretted it later.

But then again, I've worked a lot of places myself that I've later regretted.

VB: Do Buddhists "do it differently?" Do they "do it" at all?

BW: I don't think there are any special Buddhist sex practices or techniques. Even in the celibate Buddhist orders only the clergy is celibate. But there are no specific restrictions for anybody else. It's not like the Catholic Church proclaiming contraception is sinful or anything like that. Buddhists "do it." Otherwise there wouldn't be so many of us!

VB: I understand there are a number of sex workers who identify as Buddhists. How do sex and Zen go together?

BW: I only know one Buddhist sex worker. But I assume there are more out there. I think Buddhism might be attractive to them because it doesn't have any specific value judgments on what they do. There's no concept of sexual sin in Buddhism, so there's no idea that being a sex worker is morally wrong. It may be or it may not be, depending upon the person. For some people, being a yoga teacher or therapist or DMV worker are absolutely the wrong occupations -- for them. What's better -- a really conscientious sex worker or a really lousy therapist? Which one has the greater potential to cause more harm? My guess is that sex work takes a very deep toll on a person physically and psychologically. And therefore it's probably not the best line of work to get into if you want a stable life. But having said that, there is no sin involved and it certainly wouldn't be categorically forbidden.

VB: For survivors of sexual trauma, do you think Zen Buddhism can be helpful or practical?

BW: Buddhist meditation practices can help a person confront their deepest hidden psychological stuff. As you sit silently your mind coughs up a lot of things. Survivors of traumas will often confront this kind of stuff. The magic of the practice is that you are sitting very still and being very quiet when this kind of thing comes up. So you learn how to quietly be with it, without rejecting it or running away from it. By learning to be quiet with it you can come to terms with it in a very deep and thorough way. Those who have learned to "check out" as a coping mechanism can often use the practice as a way to learn how not to check out anymore.

VB: How could Buddhism make someone a "better" lover?

BW: You become more centered in the present moment. So when you're f--ing you're just f--ing. There's no going away. Every sensation becomes more real, more vibrant. Even doing the laundry can become more beautiful. So sex is even better.

Blue headlines at conferences ranging from ETech, The Forbes Internet Leadership Conference, LeWeb and SXSW: Interactive, to Google Tech Talks at Google, Inc. Her tech site is Techyum; her audio and e-books are at Digita Publications.

For more information and links to Web sites discussed in Open Source Sex, go to Violet Blue's Web site, tinynibbles.com.